Playing By the Rules
by lakergirl4life
Summary: Sometimes Paige and Mike have to play by a different set of rules.


Hearing a light tap on his door, Mike looked over, smiling as she saw Paige's silhouette through the frosted glass. "It's open."

Paige entered his room in a dress so tight he wondered if she had room to breathe. His eyes moved slowly up and down her body wondering how in the world she got herself into this dress and how quickly he could get her out of it. _But_, unless they had a date he forgot about, she was headed out on a case and that dress wasn't for him.

"I thought you were going out for drinks with Johnny."

"I had to bail." Mike gestured to the stack of files on his desk, "Paperwork. And it looks like I'm not the only one working tonight."

Paige sat on the edge of his desk, "I have a lead and I need to check it out. If you can't deal - "

Resting her hand on his knee, he squeezed it gently, "That's not what this is about."

"Then what is this about? I have to go to some seedy bar and I can't exactly do that with my jealous FBI boyfriend at my side."

Jealous FBI boyfriend. He smiled slightly at her choice in words. They had been sleeping together for almost three months, sneaking around for half of that time, telling each other that they were nothing more than a fling. But Paige almost dying changed all that. Suddenly the thrill of sneaking around and not trying to define what they meant to each other didn't matter when Johnny carried her near lifeless body out of a warehouse.

Paige pushed his hand off her knee, the simple movement bringing him back to the present. He looked up at Paige, meeting her gaze. "You're right, I am jealous, but that's my problem. I'll deal with it. If the situation was reversed, you'd be jealous too."

"But it's not reversed. _This_ is my job."

"And I hate it."

"Wow, it's nice to know I have your full support. I was going to call to tell you I was headed out but I saw your light on and thought I'd do it in person. Big mistake."

Paige hopped off his desk, and turned to leave and he reached out for her as he stood. "You have my full support. Paige, you're an amazing agent. I just hate that _this_ is part of your job. That in order for you to get information you have to seduce men."

Paige pulled away from him as if she had been slapped, "Do you think I'm going to sleep with some guy for information? Is that what you think I do? Mike, I thought you knew me better than that."

"That's not what I meant. Don't put words in my mouth. Let me explain." Paige's party girl persona was nothing more than an act. She worked as hard as anyone else in Graceland, if not harder. Paige walked a fine line to get information, but she wouldn't cross it. And whatever that line was, it was up to her to set it and if she did, it was her call. Her case. Whatever Paige felt she needed to do to get her intel, he didn't judge her for it. He wouldn't. He understood why she did it. But what he hated was that she _had to_ put herself in that position. "You're brilliant and an incredible agent. You're smart and dedicated. You think of angles that would never occur to me. But all these men see when they look at you is a pretty face. They don't respect you. They underestimate you. I hate that when they look at you all they see is what's on the outside."

Paige smiled and lightly brushed her lips over his. "Lucky for me they do. It makes them let their guard down. I don't care what they think of me."

Mike slid his arms around her waist, pulling her closer, "You're so much more than what they see."

Paige traced her fingers along his mouth, laughing when he kissed her fingertips. "You already got the girl, you don't have to keep trying."

Slowly shaking his head no, he rested his forehead against hers. "You know me better than that."

Paige peeked at the clock on his desk and groaned, "I have to get going. I shouldn't be too late. Wait up for me?"

"Absolutely."

"Good, because I'm going to need help getting out of this dress."

Mike traced his hand along one of the many straps that made up her dress, "I don't even know how you got into this."

"Charlie helped me."

"So we're okay?"

"As long as you don't get too jealous. There are gonna be other nights like this. Sometimes I have to wear a sexy dress to get information, just like you deal with dangerous people that like to hold guns to your head. Sometimes we have to play by different rules."

He nodded, letting the truth of her words sink in. "You're right. You're absolutely right. I don't know how many times I met with Bello before he stopped having a gun pulled on me. Probably not until I started guarding him."

Paige gestured to her dress, "Maybe Marine Mike should've raided my closet."

Mike laughed, "Maybe I should have."

"He did like you," Paige teased.

Shaking his head, he circled his arms around her waist, pulling her closer. "I like you." Mike lowered his mouth over hers, groaning when she pulled away.

"Sorry, the sooner I leave, the sooner I get home. Then you can get me out of this dress and show me just how much you like me."

THE END


End file.
